The Spectre Chronicles
by De4thstopper
Summary: What would you do if you have a vision depicting your own death? And at a time where everything was going right for once, Spectre is at the breaking point. But that's not to say he won't go out fighting... In the hours leading to his final battle, Spectre reflects upon the ups and downs from the last year of his life at Beacon Academy and how it all began.
1. Spectre: StD Chapter I

Author's Note: Well, I just realised that the acronym for the first 'book' of this story spells StD... XD. So, how are you my fellow RWBY fans? It's a pleasure to be back to regular writing again; I honestly forgot how fun it is to write. Anyways, the prologue and first chapter for the first 'book' in the Spectre Chronicles is here! Hope you guys enjoy this re-vamped version of my original stories, which I will actually keep up for a little while longer (viewer discretion is advised where spoilers are concerned).

Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated and if you have any questions please ask.

See you in a couple weeks!

De4thstopper

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Spectre: Scouring the Darkness

Chapter I: To Start the Story of a Dead Man

"There are many ways to start a story. Some start with action, confusion or a moment of great suffering, tossing the reader into the deep end and making them lose themselves in the plot. Others begin with normality, tranquility or just a peaceful atmosphere, subtly hinting that something is bound to go wrong, the very suspense killing the reader. But what of this one, you ask? How does one start the story of a dead man?"

I take a moment to shift in my stone cold seat, the freshly fallen rubble of what was once the wall of a tower that barely stood around me. Much of the Kingdom was like this now, a dull and desolate place with no safe corner to turn. But the one thing that set this place apart from the rest was the isolation; no Grimm, no people, just the lonely ruin, the camera I had brought and myself - or whatever was left of myself anyway.

I glance at my scroll briefly, noting the time before continuing. The night was still young and it would be a long one at that. I could just about hear the cracks of gunfire in the distance, where the defenders of the refugee camp had formed firing lines in an attempt to hold the Grimm back. Under different circumstances I would have taken every opportunity to stand beside them, fighting for every man woman and child, or dying to the last in the attempt. My friends were amongst them too, no doubt playing their part while I stand aside and do what must be done.

I never asked for them to come with me, I actually discouraged it in fact; and yet, there they were, risking their lives so that I can complete the tasks that I deemed to be my last. They didn't know that I would die here today; I don't think I could tell them because I know they'd never stand for it. They'd waste their time finding another way that simply wasn't there, or even putting their lives aside for mine in vain. There were enough people who had done that for me over the last seven years and I was not going to have that list grow longer. Twenty three lives lost was enough for me; whether it was in recent times or stretching far back into my distant memories, their names were inscribed in my head forever more. I guess now I can at least return the favour, in my time of dying.

I return my gaze to the camera lens, unsure of how long I had been hesitating. "Well," I said, "It starts with a question that I ask to you, the listener, the reader, or viewer." I study the blank and dark look that the camera gives me, waiting all too patiently for me to speak. And I answer it.

"Have you ever lost someone close to you?"


	2. Spectre: StD Chapter II

Spectre: Scouring the Darkness

Chapter II: Return to Sender

 _"A sixteen year old kid should never have to do that…"_

From my brief time in this world I have learned a great many things; but perhaps the most import of these are that life never quite goes your way. All it takes is a certain thing to happen, one brick to fall loose and it all comes crumbling down. This story begins with one such event, one that I don't think I will ever totally recover from…

I had only just gotten back from Grimm's Respite at the time. While it was far behind, it still left it's dark and… morbid mark. Even now after what was the most part of a year I had nightmares about the place. I'd seen many things in my life that most would not, and yet nothing would compare to what I had witnessed that day. Even now I'm not quite sure how I felt at that moment; losing Shadow had… hit me hard. She was my twin sister, practically my best friend and the only biological family I knew. If there is such a thing as fate then I doubt it is picky about its victims, but somehow I get the feeling that it is this event that has triggered just about everything that came after.

When I returned to the Crossed Swords bar in Vale alone, I… I'd never felt so guilty. When I walked through the front door everyone was out the front of the bar, just my luck. The three of them turned to greet me with smiles, which would have otherwise been nice under different circumstances.

The one to the right was a large and well-built man who we referred to as Pebbles. While most other people of his stature would have an ego large enough to despise such a name, Pebbles did not; he viewed the name as harmless banter and only another thing to lighten the job. I suppose you could say that he brought comic relief to the team.

Man to the left we called Gruff, a much leaner and shorter man with a rough and seemingly untamed scruff under his chin. What was much more distinctive about him however was the pair of goat horns growing from his head, explaining the name 'Gruff'. Despite his rag-tag appearance, the Faunus was in fact a very wise man.

Last but certainly not least was the quiet girl with multicoloured hair. It flowed with dark brown and pink on either side with white streaks blending with the pink. She also had eyes that would never stay one colour at a time. Her name was Neopolitan, or 'Neo' as we more commonly knew her.

Pebbles, no doubt the loudest of the bunch, was the first to speak up as he stood away from his stool and made his way to me. "Hey Spec! Good to see ya safe and sound buddy."

I hesitated, knowing for a while that I'd hate having to talk about it. "Yeah…" I said glumly, moving around him and making for the backrooms.

His eyes followed me. "Whoa… That bad huh?" I remember him pausing for a few seconds, no doubt looking for the person that I left behind. "Wait, where's Sha-".

"Pebbles," came Gruff's voice from the bar. It bore a commanding tone that was rarely heard of from him, but when he used it he couldn't be anymore serious. I had no doubt that he had read the news of Shadow's demise straight from my memories that held it; his semblance was the ability to read minds after all.

Despite all the commotion I was stirring up, I had didn't have the courage to talk to them. I only stopped once I heard the legs of a bar stool screech on the floor and the light footsteps heading my way. I stopped before the door to the backrooms and addressed Neo without turning, anger slipping into my tone of voice. "I'm! Fine…".

I heard her stop in her tracks, clearly saddened at the loss of her friend and for me in my current state. She could tell I was lying, she didn't need to read my mind to know that. With my point made and a mix of anger and sadness spreading through me like a tidal wave, I punched the 5 digit code to the door and pushed it open, letting it close behind me.

While I wasn't in the mood to talk, there was one man that I knew I'd have to speak to regardless of how I felt. This man was my employer, a guy that we simply called Boss. None of us really knew what he looked like; whenever we had to talk to him it was either through an intercom system or personally in his office, of which calling it dark was an understatement. The man was a complete mystery to us and anyone else from outside the company, all except for his defining charisma and character. He was a good guy but a businessman at heart He made sure that we, his employees, were at the peak condition to do our jobs and rake in enough money for all of us to enjoy.

The back rooms devoid of sentient life; there was no need for additional staff to deal with storage or accounting because we did it all ourselves. We didn't even have bar staff out front since nobody really came in here besides us, which made it an ideal place for our headquarters. Boss was present in his office, where he seemed to be all the time. I stepped up to the door and sighed before knocking.

The intercom panel beside the door crackled to life. "Who is it?"

"Spectre," I said bluntly, "Returning from Op, Boss."

"Oh! Good to see you're back. Come on in." A moment passed before the electric locks clicked off signalling me to enter. As I stepped through the door arch, I was greeted by the same darkness that was always present in the room. After that I stood still to attention in awkward silence; while it wasn't required, it was an old habit that I still haven't gotten out of.

"Take a seat," he said, his familiar silhouette beaconing me forward.

Given the circumstances, I felt that sitting wouldn't be appropriate, so I simply took a step forward. "The job's done and the client is satisfied," I said, "He'll send 15% of his monthly profits through, more than what was agreed."

I couldn't pick out any facial reaction from him, but it was easy enough to tell that he was happy about it. " _15?_ Well that's better than 12.5. Nice going." When I didn't reply over the seconds he paused for, he changed his tone again. "There's more going on than you're telling me, right Spec?"

And there it was, the moment I'd spent the whole journey home trying to plan out and yet I still had no idea what to say or how to say it. I sighed: "Shadow... She didn't make it, Boss..."

He leaned forward slightly in what I assume was disbelief. "Woah woah woah - she _what?_ Are you saying that she..?"

"KIA," I answered clenching my fists, only getting angrier at myself for letting it all happen.

The Boss exhaled a long and arduous breath as he put his palm to his face. "For fuck sake…" he muttered. It was another few seconds before he put his hand back on the desk and spoke to me. "I'm sorry for your loss Spectre. Shadow was a strong girl, one of our best both during and away from missions. I know you two were close… Did you… bring her back?"

"No, I…" I sighed, my chest feeling so tight I almost lost a breath. "I found a suitable place and… buried her. Her gear is with her and I wrapped her in my cape."

"Fffffff…" Boss cut off the profanity with an irritated growl, slamming his . "A sixteen year old kid should never have to do that…" he muttered to himself in a disgusted tone. After a few seconds and a sigh, he returned to our conversation. "Look, I figure that this is hell for you right now; any time away from work you need, just ask and you can have it."

"Uh, thank you, sir…" I responded, unsure as to whether I liked the idea or not.

He nodded as if to say 'you're welcome', which i also took as my permission to leave. But he stopped me: "Oh, and one more thing," he said shuffling through the drawers in his desk. He then out a ticket of some kind. "This ticket was given to us as payment for another job. It's for the White Castle Concert over in Atlas later this week. Take it as a starting point."

I took the ticket and examined it briefly. "Uh respectfully Boss, I don't think it's really my sort of thing…"

"There's hardly anything out there besides work that's _your thing_. But I'm not asking you here Spectre, I'm telling you. I'm sure you'll learn something from it, maybe give you some perspective."

I hesitated, not really sure what I was getting myself into, but despite my initial thoughts, I agreed to his offer; if he felt so strongly about this, all I could do was what I always have done and trust him.

Once I put the ticket in one of my belt pouches, Boss spoke up. "Good, now I believe you've got some packing to do before you leave".

He certainly wasn't wrong about that. "Thank you," I said with a nod before turning for the door.

It didn't take me long to pack as per the usual; such things were practiced regularly when I was younger, how to use the most space in a bag, and how to balance the contents appropriately. It all became second nature quickly and was a useful skill to have when travelling a short notice was required.

I started with a spare pair of my under armour, the shirt being short sleeved instead of the normal full sleeve variant, as well as the other standard necessities. Atlas customs didn't prove to be too trusting for letting visibly armed persons into their Kingdom, so my weapons as well as any spare ammunition went in there too against my personal preference. Most valuables like lien and my keys to the bar were kept on my person where they'd be safest. The last thing that I needed was my helmet, which was now staring at me from atop my dresser. I zipped up my duffle bag and moved over to it watching my own reflection get larger in it's visor. The main reason I wore it and still do now is to hide the scarring, not that I'm particularly handsome without them. Sometime I actually forget that a face lies underneath this visor, but at the same time I feel a lot more comfortable with it on.

I picked up the hunk of black metal and turned it to the side, examining the mechanical components briefly before placing it on my head and locking it in place. I took a breath allowing my breathing to adjust to the filtration system and looked in the mirror. "Time for a fresh perspective…" I thought.

Just as I was about to finish, I saw a flicker of movement in the corner of the mirror and turned to look the girl standing behind me in the doorway. Neo stood looking at me with that same face from earlier at the bar. When she approached I didn't stop her this time. She wrapped her arms around me and eventually I did the same in return.

"Thanks…" I said.

She gave a sad smile in response. Despite her quiet nature, Neo was a good friend to Shadow and I; she provided excellent cover with her parasol when in battle and when out of battle she provided good company. Just her being there and listening was enough for us, possible making the odd hand gesture here and there. Her sense of humour was also… an interesting one.

After that I was more or less packed and ready to leave. Shadow had left all of her belongings and wages to me, so I had enough money to sustain myself for the next few years at least. So after saying my goodbyes, I set out into Vale City not knowing what to do next. Of course I had the White Castle Concert to go to, but there was more than enough of time to fill between then. If only I knew what happened five days later...


End file.
